Governor Brown Establishes Tribal Advisor to
Strengthen Communication, Collaboration with
California’s Native American Tribes – In order to
strengthen communication and collaboration between
California state government and Native American Tribes,
Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today issued an
Executive
Order establishing the position of Governor’s Tribal
Advisor in the Office of the Governor. This position
will serve as a direct link between the Governor’s
Office and tribal governments on matters including
legislation, policy and regulation. Governor Brown
signed the Executive Order today while attending the
TASIN All California Tribes Meeting at the Sheraton
Hotel in Sacramento, CA.
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Policy Report: Beginning the Dialogue: Domestic Violence, Sexual
Assault, Stalking, & Teen-Dating Violence,
developed by the Tribal
Law and Policy Institute partnering with the California Administrative
Office of the Courts, provides a California lens on the national public
safety crisis in tribal communities and helps to ensure that tribal
voices inform the direction state courts take to address the issue of
family violence in Native American communities. The policy report
reviews the history and prevalence of family violence in these
communities, describes the project goals, summarizes the research
findings, and identifies the next steps that should be taken in
response.

Research Report: Beginning the Dialogue: Domestic Violence, Sexual
Assault, Stalking, & Teen-Dating Violence represent the experiences
and wisdom of over 500 Native Americans concerned about family violence
in their communities and constitute the most comprehensive look at this
issue in California to date. The research report compiles information
shared during multiple tribal community meetings that took place across
the state during the NACJP, into separate themes and identifies problems
and solutions articulated by meeting participants thematically.

The
California Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC)
has established, as part of the Center for Families
Children & the Courts, a
Tribal Projects Unit. The purpose of
Tribal Projects Unit is to serve as liaison and to
assist the judicial branch with the development of
policies, positions, and programs to ensure the highest
quality of justice and service for California’s Native
American communities in cases relating to Indian Child
Welfare Act, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual
assault and stalking.

Early California Laws and Policies related to California Indians,
By
Kimberly Johnston-Dodds (CRB-02-014 , September 2002)
Did the State of California enact laws that prohibited California Indians from
practicing their religion, speaking their languages or practicing traditional
ceremonies and customs? This report contains information obtained from public
records related to four examples of early State of California laws and policies
that significantly impacted the California Indians' way of life. These early
examples include: the 1850 Act for the Government and Protection of Indians;
State of California militia laws and policies related to "Expeditions against
the Indians" during 1851 to 1859; the California Legislature's involvement in
influencing the U.S. Senate's ratification process of the 18 treaties negotiated
with California Indians during 1851 to 1852; and laws enacted during the first
fifteen years of statehood that accommodated Indian tribes' traditional fishing
practices. California laws exist today that continue to protect fish and exempt
California Indians from related prohibitions.

Public Law 280: California was one of the original five mandatory Public Law
280 states. See Public Law 280 Page for
information and resources concerning Public Law 280.

A Second Century of
Dishonor: Federal Inequities and California Tribes, by Carole Goldberg, J.D.
and Duane Champagne, Ph. D., with assistance from Wallace T. Cleaves, Leroy
Seidel, Chad Gordon , Patty Ferguson, Kit Winter, Lola Worthington and Lori
Soghomonian, focuses on California (one of the mandatory Public Law 280
states) and the inequities suffered by California Tribes, including the impact
of Public Law 280. For over 100 years, studies conducted by federal, state, and
private agencies have reached the same conclusion: California Indians are not
receiving a fair share from federal Indian programs; and because they have
received less support from the federal government, California Indians have
suffered in social-economic well-being relative to other Indian groups in other
states . . .

General Information

California Indian Legal Services (CILS) is the first Indian-controlled law firm organized to provide specialized legal representation to Indians and Indian tribes. CILS provides free or low-cost representation on those matters that fall within the priorities.
Created by California Indian leaders and public interest attorneys, CILS has been one of the preeminent advocates for the rights of Native Americans and Indian Tribes for over thirty years. Some of the links on this site
are:

LawHelpCalifornia.org is a
joint project of California Indian Legal Services and Public Interest
Clearinghouse with the guidance of the CalJustice Advisory Committee and
assistance from advocates at many LSC and IOLTA-funded legal aid programs.

To provide planning information for the Children's Planning Council and
the eight Service Planning Area Councils on the Federal laws pertaining to
the unique needs and issues related to American Indian children.

Educate the American Indian population on county systems.

Review proposed policy changes in county services to assess their impact
on Indian children.

Ensure the availability of, and access to, high quality services for all
children, youth, and their families.

Establish a vision for children under the American Indian Children's
Council.

Contribute to the five outcome measures and corresponding indicator
results though the planning and coordination of service-partnership with Los
Angeles County.

California Indian Gaming News contains
extensive links to news articles from newspapers across the country concerning
Indian gaming and related issues. It is maintained by Victor Rocha of the
Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians in Temecula, California.

The California Nations Indian Gaming
Association (CNIGA), founded in 1988, is a non-profit organization comprised
of federally-recognized tribal governments. CNIGA is dedicated to the purpose of
protecting the sovereign right of Indian tribes to have gaming on
federally-recognized Indian lands. It acts as a planning and coordinating agency
for legislative, policy, legal and communications efforts on behalf of its
members and serves as an industry forum for information and resources.

The California Rural Indian Health Board
(CRIHB) was founded and incorporated in 1969 by a consortium of nine California
Indian Tribes to advocate for the return of federal health care services to the
American Indian population of California. Those services had been withdrawn in
the 1950's as part of the federal policy of termination that resulted in the
loss of federal tribal status to numerous small tribes. Through the efforts of
this organization two decades of shameful neglect of Indian health problems was
brought to an end.

The Southern California Indian Center
(SCIC) is a non-profit community-based organization serving the American Indian,
Native Alaskan and Native Hawaiian communities of Los Angeles, Orange, Kern and
Riverside Counties -- covering over 5,000 square miles and hosting the largest
concentration of urban American Indian/Native Alaskans in the nation.

United American Indian
Involvement mission is to provide quality educational
programs, primary health, mental health, housing, economic development and
social services to American Indians residing in Los Angeles County in a manner
that is sensitive and respectful to cultural, tribal and spiritual values.

The mission of Native
Nations Law and Policy Center at UCLA
School of Law is to support Native nations throughout the United States,
with a special focus on California tribes, in developing their systems of
governance and in addressing critical public policy issues and to apply the
resources of state-supported education together with tribal expertise to address
contemporary educational needs for southern California Tribes. The NNLPC
includes the following programs and projects: Research and Publications; Tribal
Legal Development Clinic; Instructional and Training (Tribal Learning
Community and Educational Exchange).

The core goals and objectives of the American
Indian Studies Center (AISC) at UCLA are to facilitate research and research
collaborations; disseminate research results through research conferences,
meetings and other activities; strengthen graduate and undergraduate education
by providing students enrolled in the American Indian Studies program with
training opportunities and access to facilities; to seek extramural research
funds; and carry out university and public service programs related to the
Center's research expertise.

The Northern California Indian Development
Council is a private nonprofit corporation that annually provides
services to 14,000 to 15,000 clients throughout California. NCIDC was
established in 1976 to research, develop and administer social and economic
development programs designed to meet the needs of Indian and Native American
Communities; to provide support and technical assistance for the development of
such programs, and the conservation and preservation of historic and
archeological sites and resources.

Indian Dispute
Resolution Services (IDRS) is a national non-profit Indian organization,
founded in 1990 by a consortium of five prominent national and regional Indian
organizations. These include the First Nations Development Institute, the
Seventh Generation Fund, California Indian Legal Services, the Northern Circle
Indian Housing Authority, and the Round Valley Indian Reservation. The Office of
National Affairs of the American Arbitration Association was also a member of
the consortium.

The Center
for California Native Nations raison d'être is to improve the University of
California Riverside's capacity to benefit California Indians through its
research, teaching, and service. The Center will radiate energy outward,
enabling the University to engage fruitfully with California Indians, and it
will act magnetically, providing a one-stop nexus for California Indians seeking
to tap the great intellectual and analytical power of the modern university. The
Center will cultivate and strengthen culturally sensitive competencies and
preserve useful institutional memory that can help faculty, staff, students, and
tribal members initiate, maintain, share, coordinate, and evaluate positive
revitalization projects.

Native American Documents Project
Cal State San Marcos has posted
Indian Tribes of
North America (California), an interactive online version of the California section of
the 1952 compilation of ethnographic data by John R. Swanton, with an
extensive introduction. Information about native groups can be accessed by
clicking on their names on two maps, one for Northern California, the other for
Southern California.